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"Ask & Dsicuss" is a discussion forum between members and experts. For referring to an expert, please enter '@' and following the name of the expert
Share your experiences in art transport, virtual couriers, collection conservation, loan conditions, etc. in this chat. It is not necessary to mention the names of institutions or divulge sensitive information; just share the experience so that others may consult in public or in private and thus help each other to learn.
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Hi Ariadna, yes, technically it is possible, we need to put together several details like distance, routing, type of truck and fuel, load etc and we can provide that information. It would be important to compare the carbon foothprint with the actual load of the truck in order to calculate the CO2 produced for the transport of the crates/artworks more than the truck itself.
I remember that few years ago I attended a conference and a presentation on sustainability, carbon footprint and truck transportation ... the presenter couldn't believe that very often we are transporting only one (or few) crate(s) in one large truck ... but this is our industry and we have also to consider many other aspects like values, insurance, deadlines ... I think there is a lot to talk and discuss to improve sustainability of our industry. But we have to !
Hi Ariadna, we have done some work on this. in February there was a UKRG meeting on the subject of sustainability and it was clear that the question of Carbon Footprint measuring is an increasingly important one. UK museums will soon have to take this on board for the next frameworks in order to meet the Government targets for CO2 reduction. To keep the answer simple for the moment, we think that rather than measuring carbon footprints of trucks, it is easier to measure the carbon footprint of crates. The conversion of volume weight to CO2 has standards for road, air or sea transport. In theory, as we have the dimensions of the crates, our IT systems can calculate the CO2 produced in Kg for the transport of crates for an exhibition from A to B. If the standards for measuring and conversion are agreed, then the shippers can provide this CO2 information with the invoice for all the movements of an exhibition. The client can then decide how to offset this footprint according to their own identity and marketing strategies; or the shipper can also provide this service, if requested.
This system avoids looking into the type of trucks that are used: How 'Green' and how big they are obviously has an impact on the carbon footprint calculation. All London based companies are now working with low emission EURO6 vehicles. Please let me know if you would like to follow up on any of the comments above.